


Making the Choice

by broken_hearted_bard



Series: The Best Intentions [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Lord and Master Harry Potter, Lord and Master of Hogwarts, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 17:31:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5594854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broken_hearted_bard/pseuds/broken_hearted_bard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a decision that has to be made, and Harry's the only one (realistically) that can take it on.</p><p>Ignores: Snape's death, Fred's death, Dobby's death, Lavender's death.</p><p>Implied: Harry/Luna.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making the Choice

By the gods, the castle was in ruins. He hadn't been fully aware, during the battle or even right after it, of the damage that had been done.

Harry tapped his fingers against his wand -- the Elder Wand, which was holstered at his side -- as he paced what had once been the Great Hall. He was tired and still recovering from spell damage, but when Deputy Headmistress McGonagall's summons had reached him, he'd arrived. It wasn't, necessarily, that he thought he owed her, or anyone else really, anything, but more that he believed he owed the castle, itself, whatever he could spare.

His friends, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and a few others besides were gathered around him -- sitting on broken chairs, busted tables and hunks of granite and stone. No one had uttered a word for the last ten minutes. Everyone was lost in thought, contemplating the idea that Headmaster Snape and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall had planted.

Harry sighed. It was an outrageous idea, but...he was considering it.

Professor Snape was still recovering from Nagini's bite, but hadn't wanted to miss the first meeting of the crew of people who would work to put the castle back together. He leaned heavily on a cane and his neck was heavily bandaged in stark, white gauze. Professor McGonagall had recovered well from her injuries, but you could see a weariness around her mouth and eyes that hadn't been there before. Neville was covered in healing cuts and bruises, and George still had a bandage around his head, covering his ear -- magick had been able to repair his ear, but it still needed healing and the healers had said he may never hear out of it again.

Fred was the worst of the bunch - he sat in a wheelchair in order to continue recovering from his brush with the killing curse. Something about his twin bond with George had saved him from death, saved him from the killing curse, and the healers still weren't sure why. A magical orb kept him protected from the elements and any germs from the outside world. He was bandaged severely around his torso, and his right leg and left arm were in casts. Until his magical core repaired itself, the healers couldn't heal his injuries.

Draco Malfoy looked wan and pale and like he might at any minute boot all over the floor, but he sat, his back impossibly straight, on a chunk of fallen stone.

Blaise Zabini and Ginny Weasley sat very close to one another, both looking pale and tired, on a broken table.

Ron cuddled close to a scarred Lavender; Hermione leaned against one of the only stable walls in the hall and Dobby sat on the steps that had once led to the Head table.

It had been nearly five months since the final battle. It had taken the Deputy Headmistress nearly all of that time to locate Harry -- he'd been recuperating in a house he'd inherited from the Peverell line of his family, and it was so heavily warded that no one, not even Ron and Hermione, had known where he was. The house sat just above Hogsmeade, with the Black Lake nearly in its backyard. Harry had been very pleased to discover the home, and had spent time in Hogsmeade furnishing it and outfitting it when he wasn't resting and recovering. Dobby and Winky were bound to him, now, and lived on the property. Kreacher was still at Grimmauld Place -- which had begun renovations last month and had gone back under a Fidelius Charm with Ron as Secret Keeper. Harry had invited Andromeda and his godson, Teddy, as well as Ron and his fiance, Lavender, to live there and they had accepted.

Harry was dragged out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice.

"You just...you can't do this, Harry," she said. "I know you're the strongest, and you feel like you owe something...but....honestly, Harry, it'll start another war."

Harry sighed again, and then turned to look at Severus. "Severus," he said.

If Severus was startled by the use of his first name, he didn't show it. Nearly dying, and being saved by Harry no less, had mellowed him. He inclined his head in Harry's direction.

"Explain it to me, again, please," Harry finished.

Severus resisted the urge to nod -- nodding hurt worse than almost anything he'd ever before suffered, for now. "There is an ancient ritual, which will enable you to fix all of Hogwarts, with the help of a few other people, without taking months and years," he explained. "To put it simply, the ritual will require you to declare yourself Lord and Master of Hogwarts. Once you have done so, the castle will bestow its considerable power on you, thus making you able to make decisions for it, including fixing what cannot be currently fixed, and setting new rules, boundaries and wards."

Harry nodded. "Will it change my magick? Will it...supersede the whole...Master of Death thing?"

"It will give you an outrageous access to magick, to all that the castle has and has ever had, but, no, it will not take away your power as the Master of Death. You have that, if I am not mistaken, due to the Deathly Hallows. If you were to give either the stone or the cloak away, then you would cease being the Master of Death, Harry," Severus replied.

"It will be an enormous amount of magic, Mr. Potter," Minerva said gently. "It will take you some time to learn how to harness it, but...you will."

"Look, you've overcome everything else," Ron said. "You are cut out for this, really. I think it's the best step,and that's saying a lot for me. You know how I feel about...about dark magick."

"And...this is dark arts?" Harry asked.

"Well, of course it is, Potter," Draco Malfoy chimed in. "It's an ancient ritual that no other wizard would attempt, that will declare you a Lord, and the Master of Hogwarts. Of course it's dark. That doesn't make it wrong, or evil."

"Like we need any input from you, you great ferret," Ron sniped.

Harry held up his hands. "Enough! We don't need to fight amongst ourselves on top of everything else."

"I...I think you should do it," Neville said quietly from where he sat next to George, who was standing behind Fred. 

George nodded. "The worst that can happen is a war with the Ministry, and we all know how ridiculous that would be. There's no way they could realistically stand against you, and I don't think they'd really want to."

"And even if they did, so what?" Ginny said. "I mean, we need Hogwarts. All of the wizarding world does. We can't be expected to shuttle hordes of young witches and wizards to other countries for schooling, or the few other academies here, can we?"

"So, the only person not currently in support of this plan is...?" Blaise asked.

Hermione raised her hand, but Blaise pretended not to see it. He still held a lot of prejudice against muggle-borns and even though he wasn't outright mean or rude to Hermione, he often pretended as though she didn't exist.

"Have you spoken to Luna about it?" Neville asked gently.

"Yeah. She's on board. As much as she can be, what with everything she's dealing with," Harry replied.

"That sounds like everyone but Miss Granger, then," Minerva said. "So, let's gather what we need and get on with it. The castle needs our help, and fast."

Hermione shook her head. "Come find me, when you're done. I don't...agree, but I might be able to help. In the meantime, I'll be in Australia with my parents. You know they're still recovering." There were tears in her eyes as she apparated away.

Harry rubbed his hands together. "I feel bad, that she doesn't..."

"It's a gray area," Ron explained. "You know how she feels about gray areas."

Harry nodded. "Okay, let's do this."

Every single remaining member of their party, including an assisted Fred, made their way down to the dungeons for the ritual.

When it was over, Harry positively glowed with magick. And while all the magick he had access too was overwhelming, he suddenly, and without doubt, knew what had to be done for the castle and set about doing it.

*************

END


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